Engineers and physicist collect honorary titles

Awards go to Rear Admiral Philip Greenish, Sir David McMurtry and Professor Roger Barlow

INNOVATIVE engineers are vital to the UK’s future prosperity, said a leading figure in the field when he received an award from the University of Huddersfield.

He was Rear Admiral Philip Greenish, a former Royal Navy officer who has been Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Academy of Engineering since 2003.  Also receiving an Honorary Doctorate was Sir David McMurtry, an engineer, inventor and founder of the multi-national company Renishaw, which has long-standing links with the University of Huddersfield.

After receiving his award, Sir David paid tribute to the quality of the academic staff and students and stated: “This University has played a great part in the development of the science of measurement in this country.  Not many universities have taken on this challenge.”

Rear-Admiral Greenish also saluted the role played by the University of Huddersfield in many areas of technical advance.

He said that: “In these challenging times, it is engineers that are leading the way in addressing so many of society’s needs, including the needs of the economy.  The UK’s future success would depend on engineering innovation, researcher and entrepreneurship.”

The Honorary Doctorate for the two eminent engineers were bestowed by University of Huddersfield Vice-Chancellor Professor Bob Cryan – himself a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering – at one of the November sequence of awards ceremonies.

Rear Admiral Philip Greenish

An oration describing the career of Rear Admiral Greenish was delivered by Professor Ian Glover.  He told how Philip Greenish, an engineering graduate, served with the Navy for almost 30 years, beginning as weapons engineer in destroyers and frigates, with his career culminating in promotion to Rear-Admiral with responsibility for engineering, personnel and front-line logistics support for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

Since July 2003, he has been Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Academy of Engineering, which brings together the UK’s most successful and talented engineers from all sectors.

“Philip is passionate about engineering,” said Professor Glover.  “He is positive about the progress that has been made in the understanding and appreciation of engineers and engineering by government, but is determined to increase the recognition of engineering in UK society more generally.”

Sir David McMurtry

The oration for Sir David McMurtry was delivered by Professor Liam Blunt, who described a career that began in 1958 at Bristol Aero Engines – now part of Rolls-Royce.  Sir David had a talent for engineering design and made a major breakthrough when he invented the “touch trigger probe” that solved a problem with the measurement of fuel pipes in the supersonic Concorde aircraft.

The invention was a “roaring success”, said orator Professor Blunt, and would lead to the creation of Renishaw, now a major multi-national with a turnover of over £500 million.

“The School of Computing and Engineering at the University of Huddersfield has been proud to work with Sir David and Renishaw since 1992,” said Professor Blunt.

The collaboration had led to research projects in the areas of machine tool accuracy, laser metrology systems and optical probes and gauging instruments.

“The University is honoured that Renishaw is collaborating with the Royal Academy of Engineering to sponsor a chair in Precision Metrology within the School,” said Professor Blunt, who added that: “It is inspiring to see such a world-leading and cutting-edge company as Renishaw led by an outstanding and acclaimed engineer”.

Emeritus Professorship conferred on physicist

The awards ceremony also saw the title Emeritus Professor bestowed on Professor Roger Barlow, a leading figure in the field of particle physics and accelerators.  His distinguished scientific career was described in an oration from his colleague Professor Rebecca Seviour.

She told how Professor Barlow – who joined the University of Huddersfield in 2011 – had carried out research that had a direct and profound effects on people’s lives, such as the use of particle beams for therapeutic and palliative care of cancer patients.

Professor Barlow has been the author of more than 1,400 scientific papers and his career has taken him to many of the world’s top research institutions, including CERN, the home of the Large Hadron Collider, said Professor Seviour.

At the University of Huddersfield, Professor Barlow established the International Institute for Accelerator Applications.

“This was the second particle accelerator institute that Roger had founded in the UK, but it is the only institute aimed at applying accelerator technology to address some of the biggest issues currently faced by society,” said Professor Seviour.